They Call Her the Vortex
by Sabrina Lonewalker
Summary: An AU couching the origins of the Time Vortex as myth and legend. This is the story of the Time Vortex and the Chosen One she has waited for ever since time itself began. Care to guess who the Chosen One is in this AU?
1. Chapter 1

They Call Her the Vortex

Part One

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

This was in idea my Muse dropped into my mind after reading the novelized version of "An Unearthly Child". So, this is an AU of the orgins of the Time Lords and their Society. I hope you like what plot bunny I have been given to run with. So, we begin in an old, old library, one so old more people on Gallifrey has forgotten it exists. On a dusty shelf is an ancient book, one written when Gallifrey still had a language that wasn't all swirls and flourshes. It tells a tale, on belived to be legend but then, don't all legends have their basis in fact?

There is an ancient legend on Gallifrey from before the time of Rassilon, so old most have forgotten. There will come the One who will end Time and renew it but it will cost him all he has ever known. The Vortex knows this legend is truth. He will come and when he does, She will know him and nuture him. For him, she will give up her freedom and consign herself to the inside of a TARDIS and she will do whatever is necessary to keep him alive for she knows his future and the future of time itself for she is the Time Vortex. She is all that is left of the very first of the race of Time Lords, not Rassilon, he was not the first, She was and her name was Asteria. She was Rassilon's grandmother and she sacrificed her mortal existence to power a dying vortex. History recorded her as dying because of a failed experiment but that was to hide the truth and the fact that a woman saved Gallifrey. She has watched and waited all of these millenia and finally, she sees him , The Chosen One and time and the universe will never be the same.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

They Call Her The Vortex

Part Two

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

They first meet her when they are twelve years old. Possible Time Lords and Time Ladies look into her depths and either go mad or understand enough to become what they are meant to be. But once, in a generation, one comes along who not only understands, he or she sees the Vortex in all of her glory, splendor and danger. Those are the ones she takes special care of, they learn her, they come to know her as no other Time Lord ever will.

The last time she had seen a Time Lord like that had been several millenia ago. Since then, there had been some who had shown promise but, not the way she knew they could. She waited patiently because she knew there was one coming, one who would see her for who and what she really was. She smiled, even the Time Lord who had once been her brother did not know her. She had sacrificed herself to give her fellow Time Lords what they needed to power their TARDISes, she put a piece of herself into each control console.

Each TARDIS developed her own personality and quirks to match the Time Lord or Lady she was bonded to for life. Once a TARDIS was bonded, no other Time Lord could control her. He or she might be able to fly her but, as far as control was concerned, only the Bonded One could control her. Time Lord and TARDIS could communicate with each other and if the TARDIS chose to do so, she could communicate with a chosen companion as well.

No one knew her history any longer, no one knew who she had been as a Gallifreyan and that was fine as far as she was concerned. She knew though that the Chosen One would know who she was. He would know her name. She watched countless Time Lords and Ladies look into her depths. Those that went mad grieved her, this was not what she had intended but it was something she could not control. Those that passed the test intrigued her and she would watch their progress.

So far, none of the ones who had come to her had shown what she was searching for. Oh yes, they knew about timelines and making sure they didn't do anything to mess those up but all of that they had been taught. The one she was searching for would know all of this, instinctively. He or she would not need the schooling they were going to receive, they would know and it would drive their instructors wild. What they taught restricted what every Time Lord and Lady was to be.

But when the Chosen looked into her depths, all of that would be unlocked in his mind and in his soul. She watched as the Society of the Time Lords became stuffy, political and very, very bureaucratic. That did not please her. She wanted them to be taught the joy and freedom they had as Time Lords. True, there was responsibility with what they were but, it was not the be all and end all of being a Time Lord or Lady. She would watch and in the meantime, she would wait, wait for the Chosen One.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

They Call Her the Vortex

Part Three

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

She looked and another group of Academy graduates was approaching her. More boys than girls this time, she noticed. Well, sometimes that happens. Then, they began bringing them one by one. The first five did ok. The next one however, wasn't able to withstand the sight of her and began screaming. The child was carried away and Vortex cried. She always cried when that happened because she always felt responsible. The thing was, no one knew she could cry, until the next child, a young man, gazed into her.

"Don't cry," She heard. She looked into his eyes. They were an intense blue she had seldom seen before. "You know I'm crying?" She asked. He nodded with a sad smile, "Yes, I can see you and hear you." She looked and gasped, it was him! The Chosen. "What is your designation?" she asked. He grinned, "Theta Sygma." "You will do well, young one." His face changed, "Yeah, only if I can ever leave this place."

She smiled, she had been right. The Chosen would not remain on Gallifrey. "You will, someday little one, trust in me. I know you." His blue eyes widened but then, he smiled, as if they shared a secret no one else knew. He was then led away to begin his training as a Time Lord. She didn't speak to him again as he went through the Academy but, she watched what happened to him. She saw the way the timelines converged around him and she knew none of the others could see it. She wasn't sure that he, himself knew.

She watched him as he grew, learned and became a man. He married, had children, grandchildren and then, one day, she felt a wrenching sadness from him. She saw his beloved wife had died. His children preferred their indolent lives here but him, he wanted to leave and only one grandchild wanted to go with him. She wondered how he would leave since all TARDISes were registered then, she remebered the Type 40 that was in to be decommisioned and recycled. That was when she made her choice.

She bled off enough of herself and made her home inside the central control station, becoming the heart of this TARDIS. Sure enough, he and his beloved granddaughter stole her and headed out into the wilds of time and space. She felt free, more free than she had felt in eons. The Timelords had lost a lot of their knowledge about her origins and hadn't realized she could split herself into infinity if she so chose. This time, she chose to.

He would need her, she knew that. She read his timelines and had an idea what was coming for him and that he would need her. Then, she smiled, her Chosen chose the name by which he would forever be known throughout the universe and beyond. It started once they were on an intriguing little blue and green planet called Earth and he met two humans named Ian and Barbara. He had no idea what he was starting when he said, "Hello, I'm the Doctor.", but she did. She knew that time and space would never be the same again.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

They Call Her the Vortex

Part Four

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

The time had come, her thief was lying on the floor of his TARDIS, his body old and tired. His time had come and she began to sing to him, a soft song of life and renewal. He began to glow, a faint golden glow radiating from his head and hands. It grew brighter and his current companions had to look away. Then, it was done. He got to his feet and had coal black hair and merry blue eyes. She smiled, watching him buzz around her control console like a honeybee. Her Chosen was doing well.

She watched as he continued his travels, his adventures, meeting new races, finding new companions, battling evil and injustice until the day he ran into an evil he could not stop alone so, reluctantly, he called his own people for help and how did they thank him? Oh, they helped him end the evil but then, they put him on trial, exiled him and forced him to regenerate. At least they let her go with him to Earth. She watched as he staggered out of her and collapsed on the ground.

Later, she was moved to UNIT's lab so he could work on her but, trapped as she was, she couldn't help him at least, that was what the Time Lords believed but they really didn't know her. What truly angered her was when she discovered they had blocked his knowledge of time travel and how to repair her. "Well," she thought, "I'll show them." She began dropping little bits of knowledge into his mind, seeing how much he could assimilate at a time. Her Chosen would not stay trapped and powerless for long, not if she had anything to say about it.

She smiled watching him with the Earth scientist, Doctor Shaw and then, once she had gone, little Jo Grant. This earth woman was a puzzle to the TARDIS but, she saw how her Thief treated her and she smiled. At least her Thief now had friends to help him and make him feel less lonely. She could still communicate with him but, with no where to go, there wasn't much point in talking except those nights when he was still awake then, she sang to him, softly and watched as he smiled.

She reminded him of where he came from, who and what he was. She knew he longed to be back out among the stars, so did she. One night, he was puttering around her console and she sang. He smiled, "I know, old girl, I want to be out there too. What they did to us is extremely unfair but then, that's how they are." He then cocked his head, "Maybe we can, we can at least try." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and slid underneath the console to work.

He and the TARDIS tried but no matter what they did, they could not get her to fly. She sparked in protest and he slammed a fist on her console. He looked at the central column in exasperation. TARDIS was humming angerily. "I know, old girl but, stranded here, there's nothing either one of us can do. I'll keep trying."

In between assignments for UNIT, the Doctor did continue working on his beloved TARDIS but, it wasn't until he was summoned, along with his previous incarnation to deal with the renegade Omega, that their exile was lifted. The Time Lords had returned him to Earth and he was standing inside the TARDIS looking at the console when a small cube appeared on the console. He reached out and picked it up and smiled at Jo. "It's a new time circuit for the TARDIS. Jo, they've forgiven me. All of my knowledge of time travel and theory is coming back to me. My exile has been lifted."

Jo looked disappointed but TARDIS was humming happily. The Doctor smiled, "Jo, we're not abandoning you, you can come with us when we travel again." The smile that lit the woman's face made TARDIS happy. It took a few weeks and finally, TARDIS dematerialized for the first time in almost a year. She hummed happily to be back among the stars with her thief and she could see how happy he was too.

The earth woman, Jo, still seemed to be a little intimidated by the TARDIS. She got close to the console but never really touched anything, like she was afraid too. They had many adventures together until a return to UNIT, earth and Jo fell in love with a young scientist. The Doctor gave her the blue crystal he had picked up on the planet Metibulis Three as a wedding present.

He came back to UNIT, alone and hurting inside. He unlocked the door of his TARDIS and stepped inside. He then leaned back against the doors and heard TARDIS humming softly. He smiled, the old girl understood him better than anyone else in the universe. He walked over to the console and threw the main lever. They disappeared just as the Brigadier walked in. He smiled slightly and headed back to his office.

TBC


End file.
